Novices take to the skies on learn-to-fly day

The small white Cessna C-172 began listing to the left roughly 4,000 feet above Orange County, N.Y., and the flight instructor sitting next to me had just taken his hands off his set of controls.

With that, my left hand on one of the two yokes, I was flying an airplane.

I froze. After adjusting the yoke a bit, all I could do was stare straight ahead, making sure the single-prop Cessna’s nose was level with the horizon and distant Catskills, secretly fearing the vicious wind would push us into the green treetops below.

I didn’t need the plastic bags we were given in case we got sick. At least not yet.

Seeing I was tense, Bob Spearing, an easygoing 37-year-old instructor with roots in Bergen County, assured me everything was fine.

"It’s amazing what we can accomplish in life when we’re willing to just stay calm," he said.

On Saturday, flying enthusiasts — like those at Aero Safety Training at the Lincoln Park Airport in Morris County — marked International Learn to Fly Day, hoping to inspire tomorrow’s aviators.

Before we took off, the training school hosted a morning panel inside a hangar at the airport to promote student flying, drawing about 30 prospective aviators, many seeking to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming airborne.

Vincent Avila, 27, a Ridgefield Park accountant, has wanted to fly since age 3 and can pursue the hobby now that his career is on track. "As long as I can remember, I’ve always had a thing for planes," he said.

Crystal Shipp, a union organizer who lives in Manhattan, was fascinated with flying as young girl in Indiana. "It seemed untouchable," she told me. "It seemed out of reach."

There are a host of federal regulations pilots must adhere to, not to mention a long list of skills drawing from physics, mechanics meteorology and mathematics.

Speakers at the forum Saturday provided a brief survey of what budding aviators need to learn before taking the controls by themselves. Topics ranged from medical requirements to legal and insurance issues.

Dr. James Labagnara, a Paterson physician, said most pilots he has seen have medical conditions, such as hypertension or vision problems.

"They often have serious problems, but we get them flying again," Labagnara added.

Scott Dittamo, an air-traffic controller at Newark Liberty International Airport, exhorted the future pilots to bring along maps of unfamiliar airports so they don’t use the wrong runway. And, he said, if there’s ever a question, don’t be shy about radioing a controller.

"Questions are free. Just ask," he said.

Peggy Naumann, a former airline pilot who now administers license tests for student aviators, noted some obvious differences between driving and flying. Pilots have to carefully calculate before taking off how far they can go with however much fuel is in their planes, for example.

"You don’t want to run out of gas in your airplane," she said.

Flying should be stress-free, added Naumann, who has been a pilot for 44 years. She said she wanted us "have as much fun as I’ve had all these years flying."